Hear From the Students Who Protested Brock Turner's Sentencing During Stanford Graduation

On Sunday morning, as Stanford students prepared for the school's 125th commencement, Brianne Huntsman checked her phone. It was 8 a.m. and the stadium was still quiet, but Huntsman was busy assembling materials to protest Brock Turner's sentencing and to support sexual assault survivors: She covered a table with a crimson tablecloth, lined the edges with bits of tape, and stacked printouts.

Handouts were printed with "1 in 3" on them—the statistic of how many "gender nonconforming students will have been assaulted by the time they leave Stanford," according to Huntsman. And signs like "Stanford Protects Rapists," "Community Resilience," and "To Girls Everywhere I Am with You," littered the walkway outside the stadium.

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She offered these to students, encouraging them to tape "1/3" to their graduation caps or carry the signs during "Wacky Walk"—a tradition where Stanford graduates enter the all-school ceremony in outlandish costumes and attire.

Graduates tape '1 in 3' signs to their caps to call attention to the one in three gender non-conforming students who statistically will be assaulted by the time they leave Stanford.

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Although over a hundred students joined a private Facebook group in support of the protest, Huntsman said she had "no idea" how many would actually partake. She also worried that the three media crews and nagging journalists were scaring them away.

"A lot of students who are very supportive of us have parents or families here who might not want to bring up that issue with them over commencement weekend," Violet Trachtenberg, a co-organizer and comparative studies in race and ethnicity major, explained. "It is a sensitive time for a lot of people."

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The occasion didn't deter James Cranston, a computer science major. "I think this is an issue that men have a huge role and responsibility in," he said of his decision to protest. When asked if his parents would be upset, Cranston said, "No, they'll love it."

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Benjamin Wheeler, a mechanical engineering major, saw protesting at Wacky Walk as "another means of exposure." He added, "I think another voice we can give to people who are most vulnerable and who really need their stories told." A member of the Navajo Nation in Arizona, he wore his tribe's flag draped across his shoulders.

A group of four girls dressed as emojis for the Wacky Walk posed for photos. They declined to protest, but Aurora Stottler, a biology major, and one of the four, explained: "We know a lot of people who are very involved with the movement and definitely support it."

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During the ceremony, the National women's advocacy group UltraViolet commissioned a plane to fly a banner saying, "Protect Survivors. Not rapists. #PerskyMustGo," over the stadium. Stanford's President John Hennessy opened the ceremony with a moment of silence for sexual assault survivors and Orlando's shooting victims. Documentary filmmaker Ken Burns gave a fiery speech on the state of the union.

But many attendees were largely unaware protests were occurring or felt unaffected. Colleen Ayer, 58, a microbiologist, said she "was expecting overwhelming protesting, and it wasn't that way at all."

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Kaitlin Ayer, 26, a project manager, and Mrs. Ayer's daughter, thought the overall atmosphere was "more lighthearted, considering what I've been reading about the rape in the news and how prevalent it's been in social media." She saw students wearing 1/3 on their caps, but didn't understand the significance.

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An Phan, an English major, didn't protest for personal reasons but partook in the 2014 #StandWithLeah student movement that called for reform in Stanford's handling of sexual assault cases. "At Stanford, they keep impressing upon us the rights, responsibilities, and privileges of our degree," she explained. "I think that it's really important that we choose to voice ourselves in the ways that we need to. For a lot of people who identify as survivors, they really needed to do that here and I really respect it."

Phan, who identifies as a survivor of an incident that didn't occur at Stanford, added that she appreciated President Hennessy's acknowledgement of trauma during the momentous occasion. "It's a super joyful moment for so many of us graduating, but also so many of us have endured violence on this campus," she said. "To recognize that trauma alongside joy and celebration is important. I don't think it was meant to ruin everyone's parade. I think it's about bringing as many experiences into the fold as possible."